Apple’s Secret Laboratory in Taiwan to Develop New Screens

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Apple’s secret laboratory in Taiwan to develop new screens – well, apparently not that secret as everyone on the internet knows about it.

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The Cupertino-based company opened a new production lab in Taiwan’s northern territory. There, engineers are working on developing new display technologies, and helping Apple get rid of its cumbersome dependency on Samsung and Sharp.

The building is located in Longtan, and it has about 50 or so engineers, and other workers, developing new screen technologies for Apple’s devices – including iPads and iPhones. The people that are close to the matter have also said that the big A has been seriously recruiting personal from local company AU Optronics Corp and Qualcomm Inc.

Spokeswoman for Apple in Cupertino, California, Kristin Huguet has declined to comment on the situation.

The secret but not so secret lab has been running for quite some time now. Its sole purpose is to produce brighter, lighter and more energy-efficient products. The people close to the matter have noted that engineers are currently working on improving the liquid-crystal displays that are used in Macs, iPads and iPhones.

Apple is also known to make a move on organic light-emitting diodes.

The tech behemoth is ranking up about $178 billion annually from iPads and iPhones. Improving these two product categories is of the essence if the company wishes to remain pack leader.

Working on directly developing display technologies, Apple can drive away from their forced alliance with suppliers such as Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp Corp., Japan Display Inc. and LG Display Co.

Since the news broke out, shares for Japan Display have witnessed a downwards surge of 3.9 percent in Tokyo, and Sharp has dropped by 1.6 percent. AU Optronics shares have grown 7 percent in Taipei and Innolux about 2.6 percent.

According to job openings on Apple’s LinkedIn official page, the company is continuously looking for more engineers that are capable of working at their display panel facilities.

Apple has set up shop in Longtan since April. Qualcomm Panel Manufacturing Ltd. has occupied the factory in the past, from 2008 to 2015.

If you were to take a trip to the Longtan Science Park, you wouldn’t notice any building that yells Apple. However, inside the factory, there are quite a few tells that shout Apple – such as an Apple Logo on the wall behind the receptionist, as well as an iMac on the front desk.

Also, according to Bloomberg, on Monday a small group of individuals have been seen wearing Apple ID badges around their necks. They declined to comment on their purpose inside the building.

Apple does almost all of the research at its secure headquarters in Cupertino. After the process is done, it outsources manufacturing of components to suppliers like Japan Display and Foxconn Technology Group. The smartphone maker also seeks help from engineers and scientists across the world in order to develop and manufacture said technologies.

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About John W Arthur

John is the head of our IT Security team and he writes about Security, IT news on The Next Digit. He was the Employee of the Year 2013 for his selfless support and efficiently setting up the whole security infrastructure. He also occasionally writes on "IT Sec Pro" Print Media of Sweden. All posts by John